Missed open weigh scale in Georgia

10 years in a federal prison.

Jk. Probably a fine.

 

Lucky today, mustve been the shirt you wore, now they woulda chased ya down if they wasn't finished with donuts/coffee.

 

Georgia....

I bypassed a scale with an oversized and then realized that they were open. The sign said to bypass. I go to the next scale, pull in and ask the scalemaster how are we supposed to know if the scale is open. She says to follow the electronic sign. I said the sign tells me to bypass, but the scale is open and I am oversized. She then says that if I am oversized, I have to pull into the scale if they are open. I ask again how are we to know if they are open. She says follow the electronic sign. But the electronic sign told me to bypass the scale, but I can't because my Georgia permit tells me that I have to pull into an open scale regardless of any signs. She says, yes that's correct. So, how am I supposed to know the scale is open?

She says to follow the electronic sign.

I go into another scale. I ask the scalemaster how are we supposed to know if the scales are open in Georgia. He tells me to follow the electronic sign. I tell him that I did and the electronic sign told me to bypass the scale. He tells me that I am oversized and I cannot bypass the scale. I tell him that I understand that, but if the sign tells us to bypass, we won't know they're open until we are passed the scale. He then says that the sensors will tell them that we are oversized and the electronic sign will have us pull in. I tell him that I am 11 ft wide and it told me to bypass. The scalemaster looks puzzled.

He then says, "I was told that you guys would know when you are supposed to pull in."

Are you serious?

 

And for Georgia, that sounds about right.

 

Lol don't be so happy about it, GA will come after you and it's a 450 ticket, if there is not a dot cap in the house you will get away with it, normal in GA house it's not a dot are state trooper it's a none officer in there cannot do anything but shake you down, so be wise when you get to GA they will come out and take you all the way back, Florida don't even think about that you will be sorry

 

I've missed open scales over the years and never heard a word about it. The first time (Brownsville, TN east of Memphis) I pulled to the shoulder at sat there for 10 minutes waiting for a cop. I heard a rumor that someone I know missed the Maryland scale just off of the Beltway around DC several times and nothing happened.

Did you see a flash? I suspect you'll never hear a word about it.

 

Revenge of the bureaucrats! Catch-22 isn't just a book and a movie, it is a career for some.

 

The State recently added weigh in motion scale pads in late 2016 on the highway about 3/4 a mile before then ramp to get into the scale. However......THEY DO NOT USE PREPASS!!. Once all the weigh stations were integrated with the weigh in motion system, they did away with Prepass and you will no longer get a signal telling you to go in our bypass. They are not set up like Louisiana, South Carolina, or Nebraska where even if you get a green light the signs will also tell you to bypass the weigh station.

My advice get into the far right lane once you see the weigh in motion signs, and if you're like me....well you know when they are open and closed far in advance, but that's another story.

In terms of you getting a ticket for running them while they were open. I dont think Georgia does that. They're generally known to have a few chasers waiting for you in case you run.

 

Georgia scales are a work in progress

They are confusing at best as pointed out by TripleSix

 

When I have done this in the past, I got off at the next exit and headed back to the scalehouse. While at the scale house, I grabbed my permits and BoLs and went in and told the officer "I am a moron that just passed this scale 10 min ago". Do not cry, but OWN your mistake (cops/authorities LOVE this). Yes, it cost you 20 min of drive time. But it is less than the ticket.